Brothers
by Raccoons and Pandas
Summary: I swear I have issues with family fluff.  I love it way too much.  Takes place post series of everything. Tissues needed.  And yes, I'm aware that the characters are slightly OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Raccoon: What the hell is with me and songs lately? I guess the stress of college is really getting to me and music is my release (despite the fact that I can't tune myself to save my life). I own nothing except for the book that I'm supposed to be studying from.

How can I repay you, brother mine?  
How can I expect you to forgive?  
Clinging to the past, I shed our blood.  
And shattered your chance to live.

Ed stood quietly crying. If Al was here, he would be holding his tears but Al wasn't. It was rare that he came here by himself these days. And yet, Al seemed to understand when he needed it most.

Though I knew the laws, I paid no heed.  
How can I return your wasted breath?  
What I did not know has cost you dear,  
For there is no cure for death.

"_I knew what would happen. Why didn't I listen to common sense?"_

Ed knelt down on the ground and laid down the flowers he had brought. It had been several years since he had visited and it was only fair that there were flowers.

Beautiful mother, soft and sweet,  
Once you were gone we were not complete.  
Back through the years we reached for you,  
Alas 'twas not meant to be.

"_Mother. You were our rock. And when you died, we lost not only our mother but our rock."_

"I brought flowers since that is what you asked for just before you died. I never had the chance to make some for you."

And how can I make amends?  
For all that I took from you?  
I led you with hopeless dreams,  
My brother, I was a fool.

"I was a fool. I knew better. I knew I wasn't a superior being. And look where that led us. Mother…" He paused. "Mother, I guess I still want your forgiveness before I get forgiveness from Al."

Don't cry for the past now, brother mine.  
Neither you nor I are free from blame.  
Nothing can erase the things we did,  
For the path we took was the same.

Al hadn't tried to stop him all those years ago. He even agreed to do the transmutation. The blame was both of their's but he took it because wasn't that what older brothers were supposed to do?

Beautiful mother, soft and sweet,  
Once you were gone we were not complete.  
Back through the years we reached for you,  
Alas 'twas not meant to be.

"_We tried and failed. We still needed you back then….I still need you and so does Al."_

My dreams made me blind and mute.  
I long to return to that time.  
I followed without a word,  
My brother the fault is mine.

"I took the blame for the entire thing because I was insistent."

"You took the blame because you believed that it was your job to."

Ed gave a slight start as Al came to kneel beside him.

"Besides, I've already forgiven you. It was my choice too. And bottling it up is bad for you."

So where do we go from here?  
And how to forget and forgive?  
What's gone is forever lost.  
Now all we can do is live.

"What can we do now?"

"Live. We're here and alive aren't we?"

"Yes. Now it doesn't surprise me that people often mistook you for being older."

"Brother, we need to head back. Granny wants to make sure that everything is ready for the big day."

"_I guess I should have expected it. Al has to be the most forgiving soul I've ever met. And I made a promise all those years ago. Look at us now mother. I have my brother back in the form he was born in."_


	2. Chapter 2

Raccoon: Anyway, the only weddings I've been to or served were Catholic so there are traces of my religion in there. Plus, I'm in college; I'm poor so I don't own FMA.

"_I guess somehow that this day was bound to come. I just wish Daddy was here to be with me. Brother Al isn't supposed to be in the room with me and yet, I'm glad. After Daddy died, Brother Ed, Brother Al, and Winry were there in my life as much as their own lives allowed. And if I had never come to visit them, I would have never met Zak; the wonderful man who asked me to marry him. He'd do anything to make sure I was happy."_

"What are you thinking about Elycia?" Al asked.

"How much Daddy would have loved to be here," I reply as Al combs his fingers through my curls. That had to have been the biggest surprise; my brothers actually knew how to do hair. But then again, Ed had had long hair the entire time I knew him. It still was long because he refused to cut it.

"Where did Brother Ed go to?"

"I shall find him for you Princess Elycia!"

I giggled. That was a running joke between my brothers and me. But then again, I was the one who had insisted on it for quite a few years. I guess I had missed being called princess by Daddy. I wrapped Al in a hug before letting him go to find his brother. Ed had been gone a long time now. And he had promised to walk my mother down the aisle so she could light the candle.

XXXXXXXX

I was walking towards the cemetery since I knew Ed had to be there. It only seemed fair to make sure he got back in time. Tonight was the dress rehearsal and Granny was going nuts. She told me that I had to find Ed soon. As I came closer to the cemetery I could hear him talking aloud to no one.

"I took the blame for the entire thing because I was insistent."

I knew then that I should reveal myself. After all, I had agreed to find Ed.

"You took the blame because you believed that it was your job to."

Ed jumped slightly and I held back a laugh. Brother wasn't easily startled and he watched as I knelt down beside him.

"Besides, I've already forgiven you. It was my choice too. And bottling it up is bad for you."

He gave me a strange look. I knew I had reminded him of mother.

"What can we do now?"

"Live. We're here and alive aren't we?"

"Yes. Now it doesn't surprise me that people often mistook you for being older."

Ed had matured once he got out of his teens. It was the biggest surprise for everyone else including me and I'm his brother!

"Brother, we need to head back. Granny wants to make sure that everything is ready for the big day."

As Ed stands to follow me back, I notice he's turned around one last time before going. A smile graces his face before he turns and starts walking. It is beyond time that we head back. After all, we were in the wedding too.


	3. Chapter 3

Raccoon: Panda asked for an eggplant to be included somehow and I've been on Area 51 too much. Translation time for later unless you understand Spanish, Italian, and German.

"Cómete mis pantaloncillos!!!!!" means "Eat my shorts."

"¡Nunca!" means "Never"

"È il vostro hovercraft pieno delle anguille?" means "Is your hovercraft full of eels?"

"Ich bin älter als Sie!" means "I'm older than you!"

Roy knew that this day was going to come eventually. But he had always expected Maes to be here. The only people they were missing were the Elric brothers. Al had left to go find him about five minutes prior. The one thing he had to laugh at was Elycia insisting on not having anything purple. Even though he felt bad at the time, the entire thing still made him laugh; Havoc now refused to get within a foot of eggplants in any form. And Havoc had gotten sick right in front of his niece. Elycia also refused to have anything to do with the color purple.

"Brother Al's not back yet and Granny doesn't look happy."

"They'll be here soon," Roy replied as he heard two boys arguing in some other language.

XXXXXXXX

"Cómete mis pantaloncillos!!!!!"

"¡Nunca!"

Havoc jumped from where he was sitting on the porch. Winry had jumped too as they noticed Ed and Al coming up the lane.

"Do you understand what they just said?" he asked her.

"Nope. Though apparently the answer is no or something like it. It's been a running joke of their's for a long time now."

Roy poked his head out of the door as he heard the shouts. At least the boys were finally back. Well, they weren't exactly boys anymore; Ed had married Winry and Al had found a nice girl in Resembool but Roy wasn't sure where she currently was or what her name was. Leaning back into the house, he yelled that the boys were back.

"You two take forever!" Elycia admonished with a smile.

"Ed," Winry started with a straight face. "È il vostro hovercraft pieno delle anguille?"

Roy, Riza, Havoc, Elycia, Granny Pinako, Fury, Breda, Falman, and Gracia looked at the two and wondered what the heck was going on. Meanwhile, Ed, Al, and Winry couldn't stand up from laughing so hard. As they finally got themselves under control, the groom, his best man and the rest of the bridesmaids showed up.

"Elycia, did they all lose their marbles after they got married?"

"I don't know," she replied still in shock from the absurdness of it.

"Come my dear, we need to get these…children moving."

"Ich bin älter als Sie!"

"What? I don't speak other languages," Zak told Ed.

"Sorry about that. I'm not a child because I'm older than you."

"We still need to get this moving."

Zak headed up to the altar with all but two of the ushers while the bridesmaids fawned over Elycia. He was lucky that he was marrying such a pretty girl and glad that Ed and Al had introduced him to his fiancé and in one more day, his wife. He had been surprised to find out that she had no father but when he found out how her father died….Zak had been shocked to say the least. She told him to ignore it; it was a long time ago. And he had been surprised at the man who was going to walk her down the aisle in her father's place. Then he understood that there had been a promise long ago to walk her down the aisle should her father die in the line of battle. His best man and long-time friend Brad nudged him out of his musings.

Ed was leading Gracia and Ray, another friend of Zak's, was leading Zak's mother Rose down the aisle to light the candles. He watched as the mothers were led to their seats and Gracia gave Ed a small kiss. He didn't understand the dynamics of the relationship between Elycia, her mother, and either Elric brother; he knew he wouldn't understand. But there seemed to be a fondness from Elycia's mother towards any boy.

The procession began with Ed and Winry's adorable daughter Irene as the flower-girl. Next came Selene, Anima, Liane, and Winry before the bride-to-be appeared. Zak smiled; Roy was walking a blushing Elycia down the aisle. If she was blushing now, Zak figured that she would be the perfect picture tomorrow of a blushing bride. He waited while Roy pretended to flip a veil over her head and bent to kiss her.

"Your father would be proud. I'm sure his watching," Roy whispered to Elycia before placing her hand in Zak's.

Zak led her up to the altar as the priest began to explain what was going to happen. As they finished the rehersal, he led her back up the aisle with Winry pairing with Brad, Selene and Ed, Anima and Ray, and Liane and Al.

XXXXXXXX

Elycia smiled as she was led back up. Uncle Roy was right. Daddy would be proud and she had her brothers with her for her wedding. Sibling bonds were the strongest; she had discovered this the same day that she discovered Ed shared her birthday. She knew that if she didn't have such wonderful brothers, she never would have met her fiancé. Elycia smiled once more as she was enveloped in a hug between both of her brothers and her sister.

"Thanks."

And thanks was all she needed to say for them to understand.


End file.
